[This is part 1 of an attempt to diffuse writing from the now-defunct Zhou Dynasty. Not sure how many parts it will be yet.]

The Zhou Dynasty had been a literate state. With the origins of writing in China stretching back to the Shang Dynasty, Zhou had inherited an alrrady widespread writing system. It was largely the existence of writing that facilitated the expansiveness of the Zhou Empire. From their capital, the Zhou leadership could issue written commands to its far-flung vassals, and could keep written records to ensure that tribute was paid in full.

When the Zhou Dynasty collapsed, leaving its vassals to their own devices, the Zhou script remained in use. The class of yeoman scholars cultivated by the Zhou regime would serve their new lords just as readily as they had served the Zhou. Thus, when the Mah-Gi-Yar state of Wah liberated the Eastern Gan-Zhi from the Zhou tributary state of Xin, much of Xin's bureaucracy would continue to serve Wah.

The Wah methods of rule were foreign to the Sinitic bureaucrats. Wah lacked the established traditions of rule of law that had prevailed within Zhou, and the tributary network of Wah relied on military strength rather than legal jurisprudence. Over the generations, the bureaucrats lost their scholarly qualities and became little more than scribes.

However, these scribes still had their uses. Mah-Gi-Yar warlords still needed to keep track of who had and who hadn't paid tribute in full. As many prominent Sinitic families left for more peaceful lands, the literate class would shine such that mere scribes would still receive a prominent place at court.

However, despite the shrinking of the literate class, the scribes would still maintain their Sinitic tongue and culture against the predominant Uralic language and culture of the Mah-Gi-Yar. The Zhou script would remain closely tied to the Sinitic languages it was designed for, and those unfamiliar with the spoken language would prove unable to master the script. Writing would remain the domain of a small elite... at least for now.